Trial begins for son accused of hiring a hit man to kill Coral Gables parents

July 8, 2010|By David Ovalle and Mara Rudolph, The Miami Herald

It began as a murder mystery: In the black of night, a mysterious assassin slipped into a luxurious Coral Gables house, pumping a volley of bullets into wealthy lawyer John Sutton and his wife, Susan.

The investigation ended, a Miami-Dade County prosecutor told jurors Wednesday, with the unraveling of a murder plot fueled by greed, hate and revenge — planned by the Suttons' own son.

Accused of a twisted tale worthy of a Greek tragedy, Christopher Sutton finally went to trial Wednesday, six years after he was charged with masterminding the plan that left his mother dead and his father blind.

Enraged that his parents shipped him off to an abusive boarding school in Western Samoa — and standing to inherit his father's wealth — Sutton seethed for years, complaining often to his girlfriend, prosecutor Carin Kahgan told jurors.

"How his parents had taken two years of his life. How his parents deserved to pay. How he could find someone to kill his parents," Kahgan said. "Like a broken record, on and on and over and over."

Sutton, 31, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. Seated in the audience for the next few weeks will be his father, John Sutton — no stranger to courtrooms, he is still a practicing civil attorney even though blind.

During the trial, prosecutors will paint the picture of a black-sheep son bent on vengeance and money who dispatched his friend, Garrett Kopp, to kill his parents.

The defense will portray Kopp as the sole culprit, shifting blame to Sutton to avoid a harsh sentence.

Defense attorney Bruce Fleisher, in his opening statement, said Kopp broke into the Sutton house while in a drug-influenced stupor, looking for cash and narcotics.

"He was doing a lot of drugs. He needed drugs to use, needed drugs to sell, and he needed money," Fleisher said of Kopp. "He knew where to get them because Chris kept things at his parents' house."

Kopp knew the layout of the house because, as Sutton's pal, he had visited the home before. Surprised by Susan and John Sutton, Kopp shot the couple and escaped, Fleisher said.

Sutton is facing life in prison.

The shooting was initially a whodunit.

In dramatic prose, Kahgan laid out the shooting that took place about 10:30 p.m. Aug. 22, 2004, at the house on the 4700 block of Orduna Drive.

"Shrouded in black, the gunman left his car and headed out in the stillness of a Sunday night down the tree-lined streets of Coral Gables, in the shadow of the country club where he parked his car," Kahgan said.

Sutton, Kahgan explained, had earlier taken Kopp on a walk-through of the house.

The dog rarely barked. The back sliding door was never locked.

Kopp wielded a 9 mm Glock pistol.

"He was on a mission, a mission to murder John and Susan Sutton," Kahgan said.

Shots rang out, cutting down Susan Sutton as she talked on the phone in the master bedroom. Kopp shot John Sutton in the torso and face. Gravely wounded, Sutton called 911.

"I need police and an ambulance," he groaned in agony during the emergency call played in court Wednesday.

Kopp escaped. Police swarmed the normally quiet neighborhood.

Suspicion soon fell on Sutton, who when first approached by a Miami-Dade detective immediately offered up an alibi — he was at the movies with his girlfriend — without being asked for one, Kahgan said.

Phone records showed a call from Kopp to Sutton immediately after the shooting.

Shortly after the murder, Kopp was arrested for an unrelated assault case in Homestead, and his gun was confiscated by police. Ballistics tests showed the weapon was the same one used in the Sutton shooting.

Kopp told authorities that Sutton and he planned the crime for months — Sutton even gave him $50 to buy black clothes from Walmart to wear during the crime, Kahgan said.

In February 2008, Kopp pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to a prison term of 30 years in exchange for testimony against Sutton.

Witnesses also told police Sutton hated his parents for shipping him off to the Paradise Cove program in Western Samoa, a boot camp-style program with a history of abuse complaints from participants.

His parents even obtained a court order to ensure he stayed there after he turned 18.

Fleisher downplayed Sutton's anger toward his parents, and disputed the idea that he had any plans to cash in on his father's demise.

"The state says there is a financial motive in this case — I disagree," Fleisher said. "John Sutton and Susan Sutton were very good parents to Chris."